


The Adventures of Huang Ren Jun and His Band of Cuties

by Riley_Ludicrous



Series: Once was lost(Now I'm found) [2]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Huang Ren Jun-centric, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Platonic Cuddling, Polyamory Negotiations, Renjun's mom rocks, Unresolved Romantic Tension, that becomes romantic cuddles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-07
Updated: 2019-01-26
Packaged: 2019-10-06 08:20:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17341892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Riley_Ludicrous/pseuds/Riley_Ludicrous
Summary: Nearly six years after they make Donghyuck visible, they are still best friends.  Renjun finds himself quietly hoping that can change, but more than anything he just wants his best friends to stay by his side.  At least this wish is granted while they discover college together.The boys are are room mates, and it's the best thing in the world.





	1. Room Mates

They’ll meet in their room. That’s what Renjun assures himself as he’s staring around at the intimidating campus that’s to be his home for the next four years, but he wishes they could’ve met up even sooner and faced these first steps together. They had all done the orientation earlier in the summer, yet he felt like the buildings and trees and walkways between had a new light now that he was looking at them about to officially be a student there. 

He hesitantly navigates the area to find his dorm, mom and dad on either side of him chattering excitedly, all three of them carrying huge duffel bags. He’s struggling, and he can see his adjusting the strap on his shoulder more than a few times, but his mom seems entirely unaffected by the weight, making big motions with both hands as she takes it in. She’s telling him how proud of him she is, that her outstanding son made it into this prestigious school, that he has such good friends to share the experience with. 

She’s met Donghyuck a few times, and as the least religious of the parents between his and those of the other two non devil-spawn she’s the only one that’s seen his horns and tattoos, not just the edges peeking out of long sleeves, and eyes undisguised by contact lenses. She’s the best female figure Donghyuck’s ever had in his life, and Renjun is glad to provide the connection. 

There are days when he’s still insecure about his place among the four of them, because they might’ve all been friends for nearly six years by now, but there were still the years before that, a majority of the time Donghyuck was invisible to protect him from people that might judge him or do much worse because of his aforementioned demonic parts. That plan had backfired due to his surrogate mom, who’d had the job of raising him, neglected him for her career. Thankfully they’d called on his dad, the Devil that like to go by Johnny, in a scary ritual, and he’d mostly fixed the situation but making Donghyuck visible and taking him home. The surrogate mom’s career as an A-list celebrity, given to her by Johnny in exchange for birthing and taking care of Donghyuck, took a big hit and she’d lost most of her fame.

Renjun had only met Donghyuck days before they performed the ritual, but he was easily made a part of their group. 

The days of insecurity usually happen when he’s alone, in one of his classes that doesn’t include Jeno or Jaemin, but the discomfort quickly dissipates when he’s with the rest of them, part of why he’d really like to get to the dorm and see them.

His mom notices his antsy behavior, raises an eyebrow and smiles sympathetically at him. He knows exactly what she’s trying to do, talking enough for the three of them while his dad comments at a normal rate, distracting him. He accepts it and tries to tune in more. 

“I packed some cookies in this one for you guys while you unpack,” she informs him as she pats the bag she’s carrying, “Are Johnny and Ten going to be there?” She adores Donghyuck’s parents, who look like they’re less than ten years older than Renjun and his friends, but are obviously paternal when it comes to Donghyuck. 

“Yeah, Ten says he has that recipe you were wondering about.”

When she first met them, Renjun was scared about how she’d react to Donghyuck having two dads, because he would come out to her eventually, and he wanted to know how she’d feel about gay people that weren’t her son. She easily welcomed them, asked them to stay for dinner, and they shared embarrassing stories about their sons. Johnny and Ten were limited by having only spent a year with Donghyuck by then, but no one struggled to fill the silence. When they left, he’d turned to her with a nervous smile and told her, and she’d hugged him close.

He and his friends all love his mom.

They find the building after a fairly short time looking for it. He checks in at the front desk and slumps against the wall of elevator. When they get to his floor, his energy has returned enough for him to scurry out and check both directions, running to his room.

He opens the door to find the other three already there with their parents, scrambling around each other to unpack, but they surround him in a group hug almost as soon as he steps through the door. They drag him to his bed, the bunk below Jaemin’s, and begin showering him with their respective experiences getting through campus. Jeno whines that he got here first and Jaemin took forever in placing second because he was here with just his parents. 

They laugh at him, Jaemin pinching his cheeks, and he pretends to cry like a baby at the treatment. Renjun pats his head and says, “We’re sorry Jeno-yah,” lilting his voice like he does when talking to the kids he babysits. When he glances up, their parents are at the door snapping pictures and aww-ing before they leave. He gets the hint and walks over to his mom and dad too give them hugs. His mom kisses his cheek before reminding him of the cookies.

When they’re gone, he hunts through the duffel his mom was holding and finds enough cookies to feed a small army, and they descend on them like vultures. They all profess their love for his mom to him, and he rolls his eyes and tells them, “You have her number, she’ll love hearing it from you.”

That inspires a group video message with all of them shouting, “Thank you Mrs. Huang, we love you!” and Donghyuck, who sends the message, kisses Renjun’s cheek in gratitude for “being born of an angel.” They joke about how this technically pits Donghyuck and Renjun against each other, and Donghyuck throws himself at Renjun sobbing quotes from Romeo and Juliet at him. 

They don’t have classes for another week, but they’re all tired enough from moving and unpacking by nine thirty that night, so they wish each other good night, turn off the lights, and go to bed.


	2. Golden Hour

The next day Renjun wakes up to to a view of the boards supporting the bunk on top of him, and he blinks at the unfamiliarity of it for a minute before yesterday catches up to him. Jaemin is above him, in that bunk, which means that if he looks to his left—

Donghyuck, an early riser, crouches next to him observing. His eyes widen while Renjun squints at him, and he forgets to lean back as Renjun reaches out and lightly slaps him before affectionately pinching his cheek. At this combination, Donghyuck pouts, but when Renjun swings his legs over the side of his bed to sit up he scrambles to sit next to him, poking into his space to ask for a cuddle. Still half asleep, he easily gives in, falling back to the pillow with his friend wrapped around him like a sloth. His fingers comb through Donghyuck’s hair as he takes in the sunlight streaming through the still curtain-less windows. 

When he knows he’s fully awake, he sits up, fixes his friend’s grip on him and makes sure he has at least one hand under one of his thighs, and gets up, careful not to jostle him. Donghyuck is lighter than the average eighteen-year old, which they attribute to genetics with no idea as to why, so they can all carry him around if they try, but usually it’s Jeno or Jaemin, with their arms visibly muscular from working out for dance. Renjun, smaller than Donghyuck and only a little heavier, rarely gets the chance. If he suggested it, he wonders if Jeno or Jaemin would want to carry him as much as they do Donghyuck; he thinks they easily could. 

They make it out of the room that Jeno and Jaemin actually aren’t in and find the two in their odd living room/makeshift kitchenette/only room other than bedroom. Jaemin makes eggs on the little portable stovetop Donghyuck brought with him because Johnny insisted on it, the eggs their because Jaemin’s mom had caught word of said stovetop, along with the mini fridge that Johnny also got for them, and stocked them with groceries. 

They’ve been told that they are not to devolve into stereotypical, ramen subsisting college students as long Donghyuck has enough allowance to buy healthy food, which he does because his allowance is coming from the king of Hell who partially makes up for twelve years of absence by spoiling him with anything he wants. 

Jaemin tells them he’s making breakfast for them, too, before he actually turns to look at them and sees Donghyuck held up by the smallest of thee four of them. He and Jeno seem to lose their collective breath for a moment, and then they’re cooing at the two of them loudly. Jaemin has to stay by the eggs, but Jeno is under no such obligation, so he skips toward them and squishes the two into a hug. When he pulls away, he silently motions to take Donghyuck, and Renjun careful re-situates the cuddly boy into Jeno’s arms. 

When Donghyuck is safely held up, he walks over to Jaemin, whose back is turned to them so he can focus on their food. He hugs him from behind and tiptoes to rest his head on the other’s shoulder. 

The thing about the four of them that confuses everyone, including them sometimes, is that none of them are dating one of the others, and they’ve never tried to ask each other out. They get mistaken for couples, every pair out of the six one can come up with, and once as a polyamorous trio including Jeno, Jaemin, and Renjun when Donghyuck couldn’t come on Saturday and they all spent the day together anyways. The senior high they went to probably thought the same of the three, but had never said anything. Their responses vary, occasionally playing along to get a couple’s discount, or denying to explain the four-way best-friendship.

The time it was the three of them, and closer to what they secretly wish was the truth, it was scary because a man saw them, kissing each other’s cheeks like they were prone to in the least heterosexual way possible, and started yelling at them, pegging Renjun as some kind of twink for his size and mocking him. Renjun had been ready to fight the man, had got up in his seat to climb over the table and rip him a new one, but Jaemin seized his hand and looked so afraid he stayed down and squeezed his hand. Jeno got up, more terrifying than either of them had ever seen him, and almost beat up the man in the restaurant before the staff stepped in and kicked both parties out.

Renjun wonders what would have happened if Donghyuck had been there.

They fussed over Jaemin, and Donghyuck heard the whole story when he got back and cuddled Jaemin more than the other two had combined. They haven’t brought it up since then. 

Now, with most of his weight on Jaemin as his friend, only his friend, cooks breakfast for all of them and the other two loves of his life giggling at his height made obvious by his tiptoes, he wishes something would happen to spur the four of them into some kind of action. He almost takes the sentiment back but leaves it there with the knowledge that there is a kind Devil and a God that he hasn’t met but isn’t so sure about, and one of those two might end up doing something about his silent prayer.

The rest of the day goes by, and they compare schedules, Jeno and Jaemin having a lot of the same classes and he and Donghyuck close behind them, all of them in some of the same gen-eds. The best thing about being roommates is that they won’t have to rely on classes to spend time together, and they plan to take advantage of their situation with weekly movie nights and as many shared meals as possible. They know they’ll probably spend more than one night a week together, but Jaemin tells them, “We need to keep our priorities straight!” and Renjun mutters, “Unlike me,” and they all give in, giggling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I actually have very little practical knowledge of college, so if anyone wants to enlighten me on the things that happen in the week leading up to first day and the first little while that'd be great, thanks. Also, I might accidentally make this a lowborn? I'm sorry if I do, that sounds like a hassle. Also, more cuddles! Because I love you guys and physical affection is my jam! Sorry for the low-key angst? I think it's a little angsty for me?


	3. Mentorship Program

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Renjun meets Dong Sicheng.

Beanies used to effectively cover Donghyuck’s horns in his visits to the the middle world, back when they were two little stubs, but since then they’ve grown to nearly the size of Johnny’s, and a beanie just makes them look like the sticks holding a crocheted web propped up on his head. The horns are black and twisted to sharp points at the ends, easily capable of pricking a stray finger. Instead of hiding them, the boy decorates them with scarves or feather boas or tinsel if it’s December. It makes him look less terrifying to the general public, but also mildly ridiculous, and they have a collection of all the looks he’s sported.

On Halloween, he visits them and doesn’t bother to hide anything, but instead accentuates all his demonic characteristics. He wears tight, black leather pants and a red billowy tank top that shows off the runes decorating his arms, along with black eyeliner and dark red lip stain to match his shirt. Renjun tries not to think too hard or often about it, because it typically distracts him from the given task at hand, which currently is making friends with one Dong Sicheng, a senior that his mom knows the mother of.

He really likes Sicheng, because they can chat in Mandarin to the general confusion of the other patrons in the coffee shop they’re occupying. He also likes the elder because he was already waiting here for him, a textbook and two cups of something hot in front of him, one of which he revealed to be hot chocolate for Renjun. 

Sliding into the seat across from him, Renjun wrenches his neck to check the title and finds it to be something about the influences of hip hop dance. He fondly informs Sicheng of his two dance major room mates, which leads to a discussion of their own respective majors. Sicheng asks him if they requested being roomed together, since he speaks of them so fondly, and he talks about all three of them, including Donghyuck this time. He says they’ve been friends since he became a new student at Jeno and Jaemin’s school and that they introduced him to Donghyuck while he was still living with his mom.

He doesn’t explain the implications of the word ‘still’, but the dark flash in Sicheng’s eyes seems to have an idea. 

With his mind on his friends, he almost wants to take out his phone and show Sicheng pictures and videos of them like a mom. He limits himself to one group picture of them from the summer, all posed around a table with the remnants of samgyeopsal, celebrating Donghyuck’s birthday. He doesn’t bother to hide the horns, birthday streamers wrapped around them.

This prompts Sicheng to take out his phone and start talking about his friends. He speaks fondly of Moon Taeil and Nakamota Yuta, who he reveals as his already graduated boyfriends. Renjun blinks a few times processing the new piece of information. Sicheng sees his hesitation, and Renjun can see him tensing up defensively.

Before he can say anything, Renjun sputters out, “How does it work?” He feels like he’s definitely made things worse, but Sicheng catches his eyes and softens, and Renjun knows that in this moment he probably looks so awkward and insecure, and—

Sicheng pushes the cup of hot chocolate, which he’s forgotten about, forcefully into his hands and says something about deep breaths, and he tries to listen and comply and manages a small sip when he think he’s okay.

When he sees Renjun breathing normally, he begins to tell him about how the three of them got together. Yuta had liked him since the first time he’d met him, constantly flirting with him, and Taeil had been his room mate at the time due to a mix up of seniors and freshmen. Yuta had been a junior at the time. Taeil had been crushing on Sicheng as well, but Sicheng didn’t know about Taeil’s feelings and didn’t care for Yuta’s. 

In the middle of the first semester, when he had a showcase, he had invited Taeil to it, and Yuta had found out about it by word of mouth, and both of them showed up with flowers. Taeil confessed his feelings after the showcase, and Yuta confessed his, both sure they’d be rejected in favor of the other, and Sicheng finally asked them both to come out with him for dinner. 

The two agreed that Sicheng dating the both of them was okay. They looked uncomfortable and defeated, but Sicheng was determined to make it work. They continued to support him, always at the same events, catching each other in passing but avoiding interaction between them. It went on for a year.

Taeil’s graduation happened at the end of the year, and he invited Sicheng, and Yuta reluctantly. After, when they were both graduating him, he asked Yuta out, right in front of Sicheng, to both of their shock, and he explained that he didn’t want to split Sicheng’s time between two people that couldn’t be in the same room as each other for very long. He didn’t dislike Yuta, and Yuta responded to this particular quip with a more flirtatious one that left Taeil stumbling over his words, and they changed their plans to sharing dinner that night, as a group of three.

Sicheng says all this with laughter in his voice, like he can’t believe the turn of events, himself, but it’s been over three years, and they’re still together, have moved in together.

Renjun sips his hot chocolate the whole while and almost breathes a sigh of relief when he hears the conclusion. Sicheng raises an eyebrow at him; Renjun knows that he has a guess as to what’s up, but for now he doesn’t pry. Renjun asks him about why he volunteered for the senior-freshman mentorship program, and they talk about Sicheng’s mentor, one Lee Taeyong and his younger brother Mark who who happens to be a sophomore this year. They leave the coffee shop after two hours of talking, and Renjun goes to his dorm knowing he has made a new friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! It's only been like, two days or so, but it feels so weird updating this much after the last chapter. I've started a new semester, and it's so much time. I felt like this chapter was a bit disjointed, but maybe that's just me? Let me know if you're getting that vibe. I never thought I'd write mentor Sicheng in this way, but here you go, lovelies! Thanks for reading!


	4. Dance in the Flashing Lights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They go to a party.

They’ve agreed to meet once a week, which leaves Renjun nothing official to do for the next four days before school stars. Jaemin on the other hand has already gotten an invitation to a party the next evening, and Jaemin never accepts invites unless said invite extended to his “squad”, something he ironically and affectionately calls them to strangers. Jaemin looks adorable and breathtaking in a pair of overalls and a tank top, but the rest of them are struggling with suitable party wear to Jaemin’s obvious disappointment. He tried taking them to parties in high school, but the only ones they agreed on back then were quiet game nights hosted by the board game club.

Finally he lets them Renjun get away with standard skinny jeans and a long sleeved tee, but he successfully begs Donghyuck into ripped skinny jeans and an oversized sweater that shows off his collarbones. Jeno, having gone to a few of the more stereotypical high school parties with Jaemin, compromises with an outfit similar to Renjun, but with the addition of eyeliner and lip gloss. Jeno is, unfortunately for Renjun, naturally striking, and the makeup leaves Renjun gaping and blinking rapidly. Donghyuck has a more subdued reaction, and Jaemin is rudely unaffected on the outside. 

Jeno frowns concernedly at the former two, adorable and familiar, and they catch their collective breath.

The one that invited Jaemin to this is a sophomore named Mark, he tells them, a member of the frat that’s hosting this. He tells them the boy gave him his number, and they each sigh when he turns away. Jaemin is obliviously flirtatious, but even when suitors get around to confessing, he always turns them down. Renjun wonders if it has to do with either of their stunning friends, subconsciously or otherwise, but catches himself before he goes after that trail of thought too far. 

Jaemin texts Mark when they get to the address, a house not too far from campus, and knocks for good measure, resulting in them meeting Taeyong at the door. There are lights and vibrating music through big speakers behind him, but he greets them with a sweet smile and invites them in like one would for dinner, asking who invited them as they make their way in. Jaemin answers as a boy, presumably Mark, comes and wraps an arm around his shoulders.

The presumption is proven true when Jaemin introduces him to them, Taeyong smirking at the two. Renjun looks at Jeno and Donghyuck and finds the two eyeing Mark skeptically. He passes it off as protectiveness. Jaemin can take care of himself, he decides, but it won’t hurt to have the other two watching out for him. 

Mark offers a fist bump to Jeno first, which Jeno returns with a cool face, reminding Renjun why he almost decided to stay home last minute while they were leaving. Jeno might be cute and soft, but he’s also hot, especially like this, halfway between a smirk and a smolder. He gets so caught up in Jeno he almost misses Mark greeting Donghyuck with a, “Crazy headgear, dude,” that has Jeno clenching his jaw and Jaemin giving Mark an unimpressed look, and then moving on to him.

“You’re with them?” It’s casual; Renjun isn’t that offended. He’s been making the same joke to himself since the four of them posed for a selfie, but Jaemin looks even less impressed, and Jeno tilts his head like he’s suppressing from hiding Mark or something. Donghyuck looks just as defensive as the other two, but he knows how much Renjun hates unnecessary conflict, so he wraps an arm around Jeno’s shoulders to calm him down while Renjun laughs to defuse the situation. Neither of them can stop Jaemin from glaring at Mark and pointedly saying, “Renjun is one of my best friends,” and Mark rushes to take the statement back and grins sheepishly at Renjun.

Renjun easily takes pity on him and gives him probably the warmest greeting out of the three of them, fist bumping him with a comforting smile to Mark’s obvious relief. Then he winks conspiringly at Mark and teases him that, “I know my friends are attractive,” to the loud protests of his friends and the shameless, “You’re pretty hot, too,” from Jaemin. Mark raises an eyebrow at him and confesses, “Honestly, I was only referring to your outfit, Jaemin’s not wrong,” which Jaemin loudly cackles at. On second thought, he might be laughing at Renjun’s bright red face.

They go further into the house to the dance floor, where Jeno and Jaemin happily find themselves in the middle of. Renjun won’t be surprised if the two of them end up ruling it before the end of the night, if they don’t try to get him and Donghyuck to join them. He tosses the original idea aside, because they will definitely dance like goofs just to get their favorite non-dancers to join them, if Mark doesn’t manage to monopolize Jaemin’s night like he seems keen on doing. He isn’t quite at the level of Jeno and Jaemin, but it’s clear he has some skill to keep up with Jaemin right now. Renjun excuses himself to the kitchen, avoiding the variety of alcohol for a soda. He pops it open and leans against the counter so he can look across the room and out the door. 

Donghyuck strolls in and grabs his own soda, putting himself right next to Renjun and bumping his hip. They silently sip their drinks together, Donghyuck leaning his head against the other’s shoulder. “It’s pretty loud,” Renjun remarks, not uncomfortably. Donghyuck nods against his shoulder, and Renjun reaches his free hand up to run his fingers through Donghyuck’s scarlet locks. People walk in and out, not lingering, and they stay like they are for a while before Renjun hears his name from right in front of him. He blinks and sees Sicheng with a man who’s just a little shorter than him and has a healing smile. 

The man has his smile directed right at him and asks Sicheng, “Is this that freshie you told us your were mentoring, Babe?” Sicheng rolls his eyes at the man’s antics and introduce him as Yuta. Renjun pats his friends back as he introduces him to the other two, and Sicheng gives him a knowing smile. They talk for a while, and a man with a worried look on his face comes in searching for someone and joins them appearing relieved. Sicheng introduces him as Taeil to the wide eyes of Donghyuck.

“I saw a video of you from one of the showcases a few years ago! I love your voice!” Renjun giggles a bit at Donghyuck’s fanboying, and the other two look amused, but Taeil and blushes and tries to wave off the attention cutely. Renjun cuts in before he can say anything else, “Donghyuck isn’t easily impressed, you know, if he says you’re a good singer, I bet you must be amazing.” Taeil gets even more flustered, and he and Donghyuck seem to have Sicheng and Yuta’s full respect. 

They talk a while longer, Donghyuck relentlessly looking at Taeil with starstruck eyes, and eventually Yuta coaxes all of them onto the dance floor. He and Donghyuck give each other a glance and agree to the glee of their new friend.

It takes less than a minute for Jeno and Jaemin to find them, Mark still at Jaemin’s side, and Jeno snatches Renjun while Jaemin gently pushes Mark aside to grab Donghyuck. They dramatically twirl and swing the by-now laughing boys, leaving Yuta and Taeil staring questioningly at Sicheng, Sicheng smirking at them to their combined puzzlement.

Mark barely gets a second glance from Jaemin, but he accepts it with grace to Renjun’s relief. He hopes to be friends with Mark this semester, and maybe throughout college. He’s also glad to have met Yuta and Taeil, hoping to meet them more in the future as he connect with Sicheng.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got really into writing this one, so you get a longer-than-usual chapter. Of course, I also have to make up for the decreased rate of updating. I hope my love for Taeil was obvious, as well as for Yuta, Sicheng, Taeyong, and Mark. I didn't mean to make Mark a jerk, just a little awkward and trying his best. How did I do? I hope you liked this!


	5. Classes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first day of classes comes with early mornings and new friends.

He and Mark end up gaining each other’s phone numbers with the knowledge that Mark is in music production and had many of the same classes he and Donghyuck will take this semester, and the two of them get along remarkably well. The day after the party and the next one leading up to the beginning of the semester have the two of them frantically texting back and forth, worried that they haven’t finished the summer readings or that their professors will hate them. Renjun’s trio of relatively carefree individuals only laugh at him when he brings up these concerns, and Renjun has a sneaking suspicion Mark’s friends are the same, but together they are free to worry to their hearts’ content.

Those two days pass quickly to Renjun’s combined chagrin and relief, and his first class takes place at eight AM. Donghyuck has the same class, and they force Jaemin and Jeno to get up see them off. They only wake up for five minutes while he and Donghyuck hug them and race each other out the door, blinking at them in mild confusion in the early hour, and Renjun prays the two make it to their ten AM on time. 

Dpnghyuck with his slightly longer legs and unfair advantage Renjun secretly hypothesizes exists as part of the devil-spawn thing makes to the lecture hall first, holding the door for a heavily breathing Renjun with an impish grin. He sees their professor glancing at them fondly: they are two of the first few students here. Renjun smiles in relief at the many available seats, and he and Donghyuck take two in the front. Donghyuck, though he looks less the part, is as much of a nerd as he is.

The class, Korean Lit, one of their general requirements, is the slightest bit dry at eight in the morning, but they did not wake up at six this morning just to fail a class because it was boring, so they pinch each other’s hands throughout the lesson to make sure they’re both taking notes, playfully at first but desperately later on when it becomes clear it’s the only thing keeping them awake, and the lecture end they vow to each other to each bring a full thermos of coffee to nurse.

They have half an hour before their next classes at ten thirty and eleven and a handful of texts from Jeno and Jaemin, sent while the two were getting ready themselves. Renjun smiles fondly at the sleepy selfie of the two of them with bed heads and bloated faces. Neither he nor Donghyuck text back for now, because Jaemin and Jeno will easily be distracted by their phones, but they take a selfie before parting ways, Donghyuck planning to send it when he finishes his next class, and the four meet up in the cafeteria for lunch. 

Renjun carefully avoids getting lost finding his musical theory class. He arrives with ten minutes to spare and sits next to a boy with an adorable vaguely squirrel-like face, who introduces himself as Han Jisung, in music production like Mark Lee. The boy raps, he discovers in the ten minutes spent getting to know each other, but also sings well. They exchange numbers, so they can have someone to rely on if one of them misses class, but Jisung seems like a good friend anyway.

By the end of the far more engaging class, he’s excited for the coming semester and making plans with Jeno and Jaemin to surprise Donghyuck an meet him at his class when he finishes. They discuss their day up to this point when they join outside the doors to vocal performance 101, Renjun in the middle with arms around his shoulders from both sides. 

Donghyuck bursts out rambling back and forth with someone called Doyoung, if their dialogue is anything to go by. Donghyuck stops short when he sees the three of them and lets them collect him in a group hug.

When he’s released, he motions to Doyoung and introduces him as his TA with such a pretty voice—they really should’ve heard him sing earlier, he made the back row shut up with his powerful vocals. Doyoung preens at the attention. 

Then, as Donghyuck is warrant to do, he introduces his friends to the man, with their “killer moves” and “equally amazing voice”, to which Jaemin and Jeno chuckle and Renjun flusters himself, assuring Doyoung that he’s not nearly as good a singer as Donghyuck. Donghyuck glares at him and gives Doyoung a look as if to say, ‘Can you believe this guy?’ Doyoung laughs at them, and heads off for his own lunch. 

After he yells his good bye at Doyoung, Donghyuck turns back to them and links his arm with Jaemin’s so that Renjun and Jaemin are both trapped and proceeds to tell them about his day, including his perspective of the class he shared with Renjun earlier. They take their time getting to the cafeteria, content to listen and share their own experiences. When they get into the building and swipe their student IDs to receive their trays, they split up to explore the options, Renjun volunteering to scout them a table while Jeno takes his tray.

When they rejoin him, Jeno and Jaemin have heaping trays full of food, and Donghyuck has more average portions. Jeno got him a “little bit of everything, but a big bowl of that soup you said you like,” and Renjun sighs helplessly at the resultantly heavy tray of food, knowing he’ll eat all of it out of obligation. He hates wasting food.

Donghyuck laughs at him but takes some of the things off of his tray, and he lets out a breath of relief at the slightly more manageable amount and digs in. Jeno and Jaemin are already making headway on their meals, which he’s come to expect out of their dance-induced metabolisms. 

They manage casual chatter between bites, and Jaemin worries over the advanced ballet class he has this afternoon, right after lunch. Renjun is the best to reassure him as they’ve shared a number of ballet classes through the years, but they all know that when he gets to the class, he’ll feel fine.

When they need to get to their respective classes, they hug each other good bye and go their separate ways, wishing Jaemin final bouts of luck as they leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! This is definitely more of a filler chapter, but I'm glad I have something for you. Jisung is another '00 line that they could potentially be in class with, so, yeah, hope you like Stray Kids! Gotta mix up these Jisungs. I posted a short BTS one shot in yesterday to mix up my life, so check it out if you want. I really like reading and responding to comments, so comment! I crave validation, my darlings.


	6. Taken Care Of

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Renjun has another meeting with Sicheng.

The only problem with classes starting is the sheer amount of assignments Renjun has after three days of classes. He takes a stack of them with him to Sicheng’s apartment for their second meeting, after Sicheng lets him know they’ll that they’ll do homework together. 

“Plus, I’m a senior, I can’t afford the drinks at that place very much,” he texts him. Renjun feels guilty about the hot chocolate he got him last time.

When he knocks on the door after hiking three flights of stairs, gasping for air from a combination of the latter and the walk it took to get here, even if ‘here’ is only a few blocks from the college, Yuta opens the door and coos at him. He goes on about “how cute the freshies are” as he guides Renjun into the small living area. Taeil looks up from the kitchen, barely separated from where they are by a bar, and smiles sweetly at him before rolling his eyes at Yuta affectionately.

“Sicheng’s in the bedroom; he’ll be out in a sec,” he informs Renjun. Renjun mumbles a “thanks” and stands in the middle of the room awkwardly. 

Yuta pulls him down to the couch just as Sicheng walks in through a doorway Renjun has barely noticed up until now. He comes over and swats at Yuta’s hand, pulling Renjun over from him to a barstool, joining Taeil in the kitchen. Renjun plops his stack of assignments down, and Taeil passes him a mug of something as Sicheng pours himself coffee.

Renjun is halfway through a worksheet and barely a sip into the hot chocolate when Sicheng sits next to him, perching his chin on Renjun’s shoulder. He’s sure it would startle anyone else, maybe Sicheng meant to startle him, but Renjun is accustomed to a clingy trio of best friends, so he doesn’t even flinch. 

As he works, Sicheng and Taeil as him about his week so far, like parents of a kid on his first week of kindergarten, and Yuta throws in his own comments that cause all three of them to roll their eyes while Yuta dies laughing at his ‘genius wit’, to quote him. Renjun can picture Jeno laughing at him, and that makes him snort. Yuta uses him as proof that his jokes are great, and he tells him exactly why he was really laughing. The boyfriends chuckle at him, but they send knowing glances over his head, ones he can feel, when he looks down. 

He finishes most of his stack in the hours he spends there, and Taeil forces him to stay for dinner. Renjun texts his room mates, and suspects that Taeil has been planning this since before he even stepped through the door.

Over dinner, they ask him about why he chose to attend the school, so he tells them about the scholarships he and his friends won and about their dream of rooming together after having been such close friends for so long. When they prompt him to talk about how he met them, he almost explains about Donghyuck, but catches himself and instead describes the agreed-upon story of how he was a new student at Jeno and Jaemin’s school, and how Donghyuck was their friend that homeschooled while he was still living with his mom. They can tell it’s not the whole story, he knows, but he’ll ask Donghyuck before revealing his whole backstory to three elders he’s only met once at a party.

When dinner’s gone, just enough food for four people to his confirmed suspicions, Taeil brings out cookies. Sicheng raises an eyebrow at him and drawls, “Subtle,” to which Taeil smiles brightly and replies, “Such talk from the guy that begged me to make food for his new favorite mentee.” Renjun blushes at the attention, and Yuta coos for the thousandth time that evening. Sicheng mutters about the betrayal, grinning at Renjun the whole time, so he knows how he really feels.

When Renjun has been force-fed three cookies and given a Tupperware for his room mates after Taeil hears that two of them are dance majors(“I know how that type eats.”), Yuta says he can drive him home. He tries to protest that it’s not that far, but Taeil gives him a lecture about walking alone at night, “Especially since you’re so small,” he says, bringing out a pout from Renjun. 

Yuta doesn’t say much to him on the way back, in contrast to his talkative nature all that afternoon, and they’re soon in front of the dorm. He turns to Renjun before he gets out, and reminds him that he can come over anytime.

“Taeil loves looking after you freshmen, and Sicheng loves having someone he can talk to in Mandarin, and we all think you’re the cutest,” he says in the end, and hugs him good-bye. Renjun smiles at him and pushes open the door to find Jeno sitting at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for him. Yuta smirks at the sight and shoots him away with a hand motion as Renjun strolls over to the boy.

Jeno looks up at him with his famous eye smile, and he pulls him up from where he was sitting. They walk up to their room together, arm-in-arm, and Yuta drives off when he knows Renjun is safe. 

They walk in on Jaemin and Donghyuck pouting at their homework, which is quickly abandoned in favor of welcoming Renjun home, and Renjun briefly wonders if Yuta, Taeil, and Sicheng are like this before he falls into the group hug that they always have whenever they’re reunited after any amount of time. 

He reveals the Tupperware, and Donghyuck takes one while Jeno and Jaemin begin to devour the rest together. He takes out the work he has left of what he took to Sicheng’s, and retrieves the rest of the mountain from his room, and sits down where Jaemin and Donghyuck were when he walked in. The others soon join him on the ground, and he gives them a brief summary of his outing while they all get to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked this fluff because it came slow and then all at once, so here it is. I think I can probably update at this general rate? Who knows. Thanks for reading! I love reading comments, so comment! They brighten my day! I feel like I'm definitely inadvertently making this a slow burn, so sorry. Do you agree? Does this feel like slow burn? I'm on the wrong side to really tell, since I have to write it, so I guess maybe it's different on the other side?


	7. Sick Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Renjun has days like this, sometimes.

He knows from the second he wakes up to Donghyuck shaking him, pouting and carefully avoiding hitting his horns on the upper bunk, that he will have to escape if he wants to study. It’s not anything against his lovely best friends, but he knows he won’t be able to focus today, especially not if Donghyuck plans to keep pouting like that.

He’s had the occasional day like this, where he wakes up and can’t get over how talented and smart and gorgeous the three of them are, but usually they happened when Donghyuck was in Hell and he could safely avoid Jaemin and Jeno other than the classes they shared. Today, however, he eats breakfast and holds himself back from openly staring at them for the most part and suffers.

After a breakfast of keeping his eyes trained on his plate and saying the bare minimum, he stuffs some books and papers and highlighters and pens and pencils into a messenger bag and sprints out the door.

He doesn’t notice the others exchange worried glances over the food and reaching out to give him a farewell hug.

He sends a fake-cheery text to Jisung about studying together. The boy responds that he’s on his way when he’s already at the library. Renjun starts one of his readings while he waits, pencil and highlighter in hand for scribbling notes in the corners, and as he’s working on a Moomin that somehow applies one of the techniques his text talks about, Jisung drops his things down on the other side of the table.

Renjun stops drawing to say hello, and Jisung launches into a rant about how his boyfriend, one Lee Minho, is being a jerk lately, and Renjun awkwardly nods along whilst internally cringing. Jisung harrumphs about how this was just the excuse he needed to avoid him for the day, and Renjun takes that as a signal to go back to studying. 

He puts the finishing touches on his doodle, but Jisung coughs expectantly. He looks up, silently questioning his motives, and Jisung makes a motion with his hands as if to say, ‘go on.’ Renjun shakes his head in confusion. 

Jisung sighs and says, “What’s going on in your life?”

Renjun laughs. “You’re using me as a distraction? Don’t you have to study as well?” Jisung pouts at that.

Renjun rolls his eyes and talks about the last few days, including his afternoon and dinner with Sicheng. His room mates make it into the edges of the account, like they always do, and Jisung stops him to ask about them.

He beams and starts to describe them, “I met Jeamin and Jeno first, when they were in a class with me while I was new to the school, and they asked me to join them with a,” he pauses, “research project, and then they introduced me to Donghyuck, who was homeschooled. We decided to try out for the scholarship here, and we all got it, so we roomed together. I never would’ve gone to a performing arts school if not for them; I’m not confident about my voice. Donghyuck has a wonderful voice, though, you should hear it,” and he continues on like that, using increasingly enthusiastic descriptions.

By the end of it Jisung looks at him like he’s figured something out, and Renjun asks him if he’s going to go talk to Minho now. Jisung nods hesitantly, and then quickly tells him he should go home as well. “They’re probably wondering about you,” he says thoughtfully.

Renjun raises an eyebrow inquisitively at the vague reasoning, but he gathers his things while Jisung does the same. It’s only as he leaves the library that he realizes he barely got any studying done.

He vows to finish all his work tomorrow. He really shouldn’t be that concerned, since he’s always ahead or at least finishing things as soon as they’re assigned, but putting things off makes him anxious. He might make a habit of it and start procrastinating, and then he’d start turning things late, and then he’d lose his scholarship by failing all of his classes, and then—

He walks into the dorm, and the other three spring up from whatever they were doing to tackle him in a group hug.

He topples back against the door. His head hurts from the impact, so he lets out a soft hiss, and the boys jump back to his disappointment and shower him with apologies. Jeno takes his hand and guides him to his bed to sit down in, and Jaemin and Donghyuck coo over him with a glass of water and a bag of ice and he’s hit with a flurry of affection for them all. He falls to his side and giggles softly.

The others eye each other and leave Jeno to stay by his side while Donghyuck and Jaemin stand back and whisper to each other. Renjun catches the words ‘fever’ and ‘hit his head too hard’ and giggles harder, pushing himself up only to fall forward onto Jeno. Jeno dutifully catches him, and Renjun wishes he had spent these days with them more often, because after Jeno carefully puts him back on his pillow, he crawls in with him, perching his chin on Renjun’s head. Jeno tells Donghyuck and Jaemin that Renjun is burning up.

Maybe a fever was always the reason for these days?

He loses track of the thought as Jaemin leans over them and checks his forehead for himself. Donghyuck says he’ll make soup, and after he feels his forehead, Jaemin leaves to make him tea. Renjun snuggles against Jeno and begins to mumble nonsense against the boy’s neck.

He’s half asleep when he hears Jaemin come in and ask Jeno to bring Renjun out to the main area. Jeno carries him bridal style to the other, and Renjun keeps his head tucked under his chin. Jeno sits against the wall with Renjun in his lap and Jaemin puts a mug into Renjun’s hands to sip on. Donghyuck sits down next to the two and spoon-feeds Renjun between sips. 

He finishes the tea and soup, and Jeno carries him back to his bunk. Renjun feels himself being put down and tucked in and makes a loud sound when Jeno starts to walk away that would otherwise be embarrassing, flailing his arms out to grab for someone. Jaemin taps Jeno’s shoulder to tell him he can do it and crawls under the covers next to Renjun. Renjun blinks up at him and asks him, “Will you guys stay with me?”

The question is quiet, but it catches the attention on Jeno and Donghyuck. Jaemin kisses his forehead. “Always, Injunnie.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, this was a trip and a half, and I'm sorry if the fluff kills you, because it killed me, too, my dear readers. This was my way of low-key moving them forward? Hope it worked? Lemme know. Should I add Stray Kids as a fandom? idk, it's not that much there, but there is that little bit. It wasn't actually my original intent to make Renjun sick, but as I was reading this, it evolved into that. Hope you like the longish chapter!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Renjun makes up his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter, woo!

The next day he wakes up still curled around Jaemin, and Donghyuck and Jeno are in the bunk across from them because Donghyuck is a sympathy cuddler, and Renjun decides he will tell them exactly how he feels about all of them, soon.

He will find some flowers and properly confess, over dinner, which he’ll cook them, and come what may, he loves the three of them dearly enough to bear the pain of rejection. 

Right now, though, he snuggles into Jaemin a moment longer and then carefully crawls out of his arms. He takes advantage of the weekend morning and looks up a flower shop in another part of town that he’ll have to take a bus to get to. He leaves a note that he’s out grocery shopping, and grabs the communal list of foodstuffs they’re running low on. 

When he finally gets off the last bus, he walks another block and a half to find the place. The cashier is manned by a teenager shouting orders at another boy who appears to be watering flowers. Renjun stands in front of him for a little while, chuckling internally at the two, before the boy notices him.

His tone instantly flips to a that of a cheerful salesman. “Welcome to Zhong Floral! How can I help you?” His name tag reads Chenle.

“I need a bouquet of ro—“ Renjun begins, but the other boy, who’s stopped watering it seems, cuts him off. “You can’t just give roses to confess, that’s so lame!” Chenle chides him with a hissed, “Jisung!” but he agrees with the sentiment by the unimpressed look on his face aimed at Renjun right now.

Renjun smirks at the kid. “And what exactly should I confess with?” The kid comes over to them and nudges Chenle away from the register to pull out an encyclopedia about plants and their meanings. He flips it open to a section on romantic messages and turns it around to face Renjun. “You can start here,” he informs him, before scurrying away under the heat of Chenle’s glare to keep watering. It seems light-hearted enough between them, if the kiss Jisung blows Chenle’s way and Chenle’s bright blush are anything to go on.

Renjun flips through the admittedly helpful pages and wonders out loud if sunflowers and red carnations would look pretty together, and the two boys exchange glances with each other as if to debate the idea. Jisung, clearly the one more interested in flowers, nods thoughtfully. Chenle asks if those are definitely the ones he wants, and he tells them how many he wants. 

While they put together his arrangement, he goes to the closest market to check a few things off the list of groceries to avoid suspicion. He picks up the flowers before heading home on the miscellaneous bus rides. 

When he walks back into their dorm, he sticks the flowers in a vase and hides them behind the fridge. Spaghetti is simple, and he’d rather not put a whole lot of stress over following fancy recipes right now, so he sets some pasta and a jar of tomato sauce aside. Then he calls Jaemin, knowing that he and Jeno have studio time for practicing right now, and lets the both of them know he has a plan for dinner. They fuss about him cooking while he’s sick, and even more about him going out to run errands today, so he ends the call with a quick, “Love you, bye!” and hangs up.

Next he calls Donghyuck, not entirely sure where he is. Donghyuck enthusiastically tells him about how Doyoung took him out with other vocal haunts for impromptu karaoke. Renjun can hear someone singing EXO in the background, and he lets Donghyuck go after making sure he’ll be home for dinner.

He takes advantage of the peace and quiet to emotionally prepare himself. He’s struck by the fact that he’s doing this, today, and it’s utterly terrifying, because, sure, they might feel the same way, and this might be the best decision of his life, but they could also gently let him down, and maybe that would mean no more cuddles, or maybe they would kick him out to find other room mates, or maybe they wouldn’t want to ever talk to him again—

He needs to make dinner.

With the noodles boiling and the tomato sauce warming in a sauce pan with extra garlic and Italian seasoning added in, he pushes every doubtful thought away before it can fully form. Donghyuck gets back first and exclaims over the smell, squeezing Renjun from behind and thanking him for making dinner. Jeno and Jaemin get back next, hair still wet from the shower, and make a louder ruckus than Donghyuck at the prospect of the food, clearly starving. The three of them insist on setting a table cloth with plates and silverware and washing the dishes Renjun’s finished using. 

Renjun’s anxious mood is obvious to the three if their reassuring pats on his shoulders and back are anything to go by. He turns off the stovetop, strains the noodles and recovers the flowers from behind the fridge. They ooh and ah over them while he sets the vase in the middle of the table cloth. It’s a bit like a picnic on the floor of their dorm.

They dig into their food giving him compliments through full mouths. Once the four of them are sprawled across the floor with comfortably full stomachs, Renjun pulls together his courage. He sits up and clears his throat. The other three look up at him with easy grins, and they soothe him enough to rush through, “IreallyloveyouguysandIwannadateallofyouandkissandholdhandsmorreoften.”

Their faces all shift, and Renjun’s sure it means no, except Donghyuck says, “What?”

His eyes squeezed shut, he comes out with a slow and stumbling, “I really like, love, you all, and I want to date the three of you, like kissing, and holding hands more of the time since we already do that sometimes. I really like holding hands with you guys.” The last part is said with his head down and his hands clasped in his lap.

They glance at each other, unsure of what exactly to say, before Jeno pipes up. “I love you, too Renjun,” he takes Renjun’s clasped hands in one of his and lifts the boy’s chin with his other, forcing Renjun to squint at him, “and I feel the same about you two,” he finishes, looking over at Jaemin and Donghyuck in turn.

Jaemin and Donghyuck look at each other and nod curiously, and then they voice their agreement. The two of them crawl over to Renjun and Jeno. Jaemin grabs Renjun’s face with both of his hands to the sound of Donghyuck quietly muttering a humorous, “Not fair,” that they all can’t help but to laugh at for a moment.

Jaemin, lips upturned with the remnants of laughter, asks Renjun if he can kiss him. Renjun bites his lip and nods. Jaemin pecks him, quick and barely a full couple-y kiss, but they’re not just a couple. As soon as their lip have parted, Donghyung pulls Renjun to him and pouts rather than saying anything. Renjun chuckles at him and takes the lead, nerves washing away with all of them so close like this. Jeno patiently waits his turn, and once that’s done, they exchange kisses between the three of them. It evolves into a cuddle pile wherein they also kiss each other.

It’s really, really nice, and kind of familiar other than that one new addition, which Renjun discovers he’s totally fine with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I rushed the ending, but I guess I'm okay with how it turned out? Like, I wasn't gonna throw some unnecessary drama into their lives to make them make a move, so here you go. Sometimes this is how it goes and it feels rushed, but really everything has its own pace. You also have to remember that, according to this universe, they've known each other for like, six years, and the major thing that changed was them living together.
> 
> I think this is pretty much the end of this pic, unless I write an epilogue or a sequel about some other ship. How'd you like the background Chensung? I might write about them, just not put it in this series, who knows. Thank you for reading through this series! The comments have always meant a lot to me! All of you made this fic what it is, literally. Like, I wasn't even planning on having Johnten be Donghyuck's parents until a reader suggested Johnny as the Devil.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, remember when I said, "I'll take a rest from this fic, maybe write something else, just read stuff for a few days, yeah, that sounds fun!" well turns out that was a lie. Hope you like this! Just a few key changes from the last one; this one's focused around Renjun, and in present tense. Fun times! If you read this by itself, that's ok! I hope I explained everything in this part well enough for you to understand! If you don't, comment your questions. I crave encouragement and constructive criticism, so tell me what you think so far!


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